New Regs Choke Roll-Your-Own Stores
Arizona business owners who capitalized on a booming niche market for customers who rolled their own cigarettes face a questionable future.
The operation was simple -- customers bought pipe tobacco that was cheaper than cigarette tobacco and blended to their liking, bought paper tubes, and then poured the tobacco into a roll-your-own machine. Out popped a carton's worth of freshly rolled cigarettes that cost about half the price of a store-bought carton. Smokers came to the stores in droves, business owners said.
But a new federal regulation contained in the 584-page federal transportation bill added the classification of manufacturer to businesses that cater to roll-your-own customers. Previously, they were classified as retailers. The change is forcing owners to comply with a set of new, and costly, state and federal regulations.
Source: Arizona Republic. Read full article. (link)
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time.